Untitled 8 is an exploration of instrumental textures in an improvisational setting. Encapsulating these textures within space, this piece hopes to explore the nuances and organic nature of instrument and performer joined together.
Click Here For Audio: InProgress: Untitled 8 (Stereo)
Reflections
Overall, I was pretty happy with how this piece turned out. Despite choosing to put a time based work in a gallery setting (now I know not to), I felt like it was a pretty strong work and that those who came expecting to hear something like that enjoyed it. The biggest thing I would change, going into this situation next time, is taking a better appraisal of what the space will be like. Although I don’t want the space to completely decide what my piece will be, the relationship between the piece and the space it occupies needs to be more harmonious.
Creatively, I feel like I kind of put a damper on myself for multiple reasons. One was that I was putting way too much time into the piece. I realized that the more I pushed myself and bashed my head into the wall, the worse things would actually turn out. Second, I felt limited by the space and by the constraints of the situation. Originally, my piece was anywhere from between 7-10 minutes, and was much more densely layered. I realized however, that nobody, not even me, would want to stand there for 10 minutes to hear a sound piece (maybe I should have used beanbags too). Also, with a thickly layered sound like I was working with, combined with six speakers, the space was quickly dominated and overwhelmed with my piece, which I was not OK with.
In the future, I think I will focus more on an interactive/stochastic bent, wherein my piece is not static. I’m more interested in interaction these days anyways, so this should progress nicely as I do future works.
